A 27-year-old Iraq War veteran was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound near the body of his sister inside their Gilroy apartment on Wednesday night, and investigators consider the case a murder-suicide, police said today. The man’s 52-year-old mother, who also lives at the home, is missing, and police fear she may be critically injured or dead, Sgt. Chad Gallacinao said.

Police were called to the apartment at 9005 Kern Ave. around 9 p.m. after a roommate who lived with the family called police suspecting something was wrong. Officers found the bodies of Abel Gutierrez and his 11-year-old sister, along with evidence suggesting that Gutierrez had shot his sister before turning the gun on himself, police said.

There were also indications that his mother, Martha Gutierrez, had been critically injured, but she was not at the home and police are following several leads to determine her whereabouts.”We’re desperately trying to find her,” Gallacinao said. He said she might require immediate medical attention. Gilroy police had responded to several calls at the apartment recently.

Family members had suspected that Abel Gutierrez was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and police were helping the family coordinate treatment services with the Office of Veterans Affairs. The girl was a student at a school in Gilroy, and police have reached out to the school district to coordinate counseling for the other students at the school, Gallacinao said. Gilroy police are asking anyone with information about Martha Gutierrez’s whereabouts to call Detective Michael Bolton at (408) 846-0350.

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